Category: Lifestyle App

While Microsoft’s own mobile platform is struggling to survive, the company continues to pump out their apps for Android and iOS. The latest, exclusive to Android, is Mimicker Alarm. Aimed at helping those who need a little help getting going in the morning, this beautiful Material Design app requires users to mimic actions given to deactivate the alarm. Those mimic games can include matching a color by snapping a picture, matching an emotion by taking a selfie or by repeating a tongue twister phrase out loud.

The app is powered by Microsoft’s Project Oxford API which is aimed at improving the understanding and recognition of emotion, computer vision and speech. You can read more about the project here.

I am a big user of OpenTable and have been for a long time. It’s a great way to make a restaurant reservation whether you are at home or on the road. One of my biggest complaints however is the lack of profile management in the app for Android (or iOS for that matter). Anytime I want to change my email address or password I would have to log into the OpenTable website to change them. Thankfully that is no longer the case.

OpenTable for Android was updated today to version 5.0.0.1398 for those keeping score at home and the big news with this update is the ability to update your profile from within the app. No longer do you have to go to the site to make these changes and the update is available for both Android phones and tablets.

Diet and exercise are pretty obvious points when it comes to a healthy lifestyle but sleep is equally as important. Without enough sleep, we have all kinds of issues from the self evident drowsiness to a loss of mental sharpness. It also leads to challenges around diet and certainly impacts our desire to exercise. Who wants to go to the gym tired? That’s why the latest update to Fitbit for Android is really important. In this latest update, version 2.8 for those keeping score at home, you have the ability to set a nightly sleep goal. In fact, this entire update is essentially dedicated to sleep with other features added around sleep and sleep goals. If you already use your Fitbit to track your sleep nightly then this new update will give you new insights and help you focus on getting the right amount of rest you need each day.

The Starbucks for Android app has been updated today, bringing substantially improved eGift redemption within the app. The update, version 3.1.1 for those keeping score at home, promises “seamless” eGfit redemption for users. This will be a welcome change to many as the previous builds of the app struggled to get the eGift applied properly to accounts. That, hopefully, is a thing of the past with this update.

OpenTable has updated their app for Android today, bringing significantly improved integration with Google Maps. The update to OpenTable for Android, version 4.4.2.1170 for those keeping score at home, is available now in the Google Play store. It is designed for both Android phones and tablets. For those not familar with OpenTable, it is a service-meets-app that allows you to find restaurants near you and make bookings at them for that day or in the future. Each time you dine you get points which can be redeemed for discounts at any restaurant who is in the OpenTable program. I have used the app for years and it is a great way to find a place to eat if you are not familiar with the city you happen to be visiting or even at home to get a table at that popular restaurant.